Ganguly's inclusion in Bengal team raises eyebrows

The selection committee's decision to include Sourav Ganguly in the Bengal team for the Ranji Trophy matches against Orissa and Bihar has raised quite a few eyebrows in cricketing circles in Calcutta. Bengal start their four day Ranji tie against Orissa on December 28 while the match against Bihar is to be played from January 3.

After his arrival in Calcutta a few days back, Ganguly had informed the media that he would sit out the Orissa match to rest his back which had been bothering him. In spite of that, the Bengal selectors decided to include him in the squad. Talking about the issue, the joint secretary of the Cricket Association of Bengal S Banerjee said, "Sourav's elder brother Snehasis Ganguly is also a member of the selection committee. We talked to him on the phone before including him in the team."

The elder Ganguly, who at present is recuperating in a nursing home in Calcutta however, denied this. He said, "How can I assure the CAB regarding Sourav's participation? When we had sat down to form the preliminary team for this year's domestic tournaments, we had chosen Sourav as the captain of the team according to his availability. Now it is up to him as to when he will play."

Banerjee however is unfazed. "If Sourav Ganguly does not want to play against Orissa, let him inform us through a letter. Then we will take a different course of action. As of now, he has not officially intimated us regarding his unavailability."

Meanwhile, the selectors have dropped former Indian wicketkeeper Saba Karim from the squad. Karim had informed the CAB that he had recovered from the problems that he had regarding his eyesight. However, Banerjee informed that Karim had not been included in the squad as the selectors were yet to see him in action. "We are yet to determine whether he is fit or not," said Banerjee. It should be added here that Karim had opted out of the Ranji one day matches between the East Zone states. However, during the last few days, Karim has been regularly keeping wickets for the local club in Calcutta.